Rediffusion, Bangalore, bags Reva account

By
, agencyfaqs! | In | February 21, 2003

The account moves from Akshara Advertising

After reaching the final round in the Louis Philippe pitch and then losing out to Contract, there has been at least one big reason to cheer about at Rediffusion DY&R's Bangalore office. The agency has bagged the advertising account of Reva, India's first electric car, from Reva Electric Car Company (RECC). Akshara Advertising was handling the account earlier.

Confirming the move to agencyfaqs! SK Maini, chairman, RECC, said, "We decided to work with Rediffusion as they have some clear ideas on how to deal with our product. However, we will be taking our communication in stages as our product is very different and offers an alternate solution to the market." While refusing to divulge the size of the account, Maini said that spends will be "judicious" in keeping with the nature of the product.

On its part, Rediffusion is ecstatic. Mahesh Chauhan, vice-president, Rediffusion, said, "We are very excited about this account as it is a new concept in cars and requires a different approach and thinking. Because of its nature, it will rely a lot on unconventional media. Hence, a typical approach of splashing ads across television channels is not exactly what this is going to be all about."

True, Reva electric car is a unique offering in the automobile category. It seeks to offer environment-friendly technology and aims to be at the forefront of development and innovation in the field of electric vehicles. "We have started with roadshows to showcase the product. We are looking at high income families that are looking for a small second car. It is also being pitched at young people in colleges and at workplaces, who can think of this as their first vehicle, instead of a two-wheeler. Thus, our focus is college campuses, trade shows to communicate this positioning," said Chetan Maini, managing director, Reva. He added the idea is to rope in people in the 18-80 age group. The company is also looking at limited print ads and radio spots in places where the medium is popular. The media and marketing activity is likely to pick up in March this year.

The company is looking at a phased launch and hopes this way it will be able to tweak its strategy on the basis of consumer feedback. It plans to concentrate its efforts in and around its base in Karnataka and then move on to states where the tax structure makes the car a favourable buy.

There are a little over 300 Reva cars on the road already. It is available in Bangalore, Jodhpur, Goa, Surat and Chennai. Currently, the vehicle has four versions on offer. The Reva basic model is priced around Rs 2.5 lakh; the Reva account bears a price tag of close to Rs 3 lakh; the Reva Classe sells at a little over Rs 3.2 lakh and the Reva Zephyr, a convertible, sports a price tag of Rs 3.7 lakh. (The prices are indicative and vary in different states according to varying tax structures.) The company got a leg up recently with the government announcing it will offer a subsidy of Rs 75,000 on the purchase of this vehicle for all its departments, PSUs, hospitals and tourist areas.